BarryNL
Well-Known Member
I want to start a batch of beer off this weekend but it's a kit with just a small dried yeast pack so I'm thinking it might be better to make a starter. The thing is, I have no wort and don't want to open the kit itself till I'm ready to start fermenting.
Is there any reason why I couldn't just use sugar to make the starter? If so, what would I do? I'm thinking:
Boil a pint of water with maybe 50 grams of sugar for 10 mins, transfer to a sanitised bottle and cool the syrup by putting the bottle in cold water, then, around 20deg.C pitch the dried yeast in, and leave to breed for a day before using it to pitch the wort.
Also, do I need to get an airlock for the starter or are there any simple tricks to avoid this (such as clingfilm and an elastic band) as it would be a 70km round trip to get one.
Is there any reason why I couldn't just use sugar to make the starter? If so, what would I do? I'm thinking:
Boil a pint of water with maybe 50 grams of sugar for 10 mins, transfer to a sanitised bottle and cool the syrup by putting the bottle in cold water, then, around 20deg.C pitch the dried yeast in, and leave to breed for a day before using it to pitch the wort.
Also, do I need to get an airlock for the starter or are there any simple tricks to avoid this (such as clingfilm and an elastic band) as it would be a 70km round trip to get one.